Advice--can do math in head, but on paper, it's wrong

[distancia]

We really want to get to the bottom of this math issue, so the other day dd (18) and I sat down and went over yet another test with over 50% wrong. It was easy, EASY material which she had covered in Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1, as well as Algebra 2, which she has taken twice.

 

Anyway, here is what happened: dd could LOOK at the problem and TELL me the answers, verbally. She could look at my graph and tell me where to place the dots. She could explain how to do every problem, even the most complex equations, some of which she could solve in her head! But as soon as she took up a pencil and paper and started to write everything down, step by step, she messed up. She writes slowly, carefully, and neatly, but it is as if her hand can't keep up with her brain. She says her brain is already done with the problem and has moved on to the next, while her hand is still writing the solution to the previous problem. So the two aren't coordinated.

 

She does take ADD meds to slow her brain down, which helps her with English and her other college classes, but we don't know how to work with the math. She has already attempted College Algebra, and she can explain ALOUD how to solve all the problems and she arrives at the correct answers if she says the steps aloud (sometimes she leaves out steps because her mind has already gone on to the answer), but that doesn't go over well in classes where you have to show each step of your work in written form, or on exams, you have to write those! Thus, she had to withdraw from the class (this was before we discovered this LD).

 

Any suggestions?

[rafiki]

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[distancia]

I'm glad mine isn't the only one.

 

Does your son have problems with other areas which require breaking things down into smaller steps?

 

I am posting another topic on this, I think they might be related in some way....

 

Please keep me informed about your son's eval. As soon as my dd starts college next fall she is going to be tested.

[rafiki]

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[freerange]

Are you familiar with the WWE approach to narration & dictation? Try something similar with the sums to help her bridge the gap.

[EKS]

Has she ever tried saying aloud what she is supposed to be writing as she writes it for each step? A similar thing happened when I used to so Sequential Spelling with my dyslexic son. He could spell the words aloud, but when he wrote them they would be wrong. His OT suggested having him say each letter aloud as he was writing it and suddenly he was able to write the words correctly.

[distancia]

No, I have not tried WWE. I will look at it (Google>?) and see what the methodology is, maybe they have it for math.

 

About saying the steps aloud: I think that is an excellent idea. That seems to be the only method that works for dd! Since she is going to college I'm hoping she can design an IEP (she is already diagnosed with ADD) which allows her to take exams, etc. verbally.

[dcurry]

If she knows the answers by looking at it, but is required to show her work, have her write down the answer first. Then after she works the problem, if the answer doesn't match her original, have her re-do the steps until she sees where she went wrong.

[LizzyBee]

I've been listening to The Myth of Laziness, and Mel Levine describes a boy who can tell you the answers to everything, tell you what he wants to write; but he can't write it. He described it as a graphomotor weakness and said some kids have to put so much effort into remembering how to form letters that they have nothing left to attend to spelling, mechanics, content, organization, etc. Maybe your daughter has a similar issue with math symbols rather than language symbols? Your library probably has the book if you want to check it out.